With safety as one of its core values, Volvo Cars has become famous for always putting people first. Ever since the founding members at Volvo declared that “Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we do at Volvo, therefore is, and must remain – safety”, Volvo has had a people-centric approach to everything it does.
Whether it’s designing cars, inventing seatbelts or naming our crash test dummies (the newest addition is Bob, by the way), Volvo’s caring attitude reflects in all the company’s ventures. And as such, Volvo Car South Africa is delighted to once again team up with Jacaranda’s Good Morning Angels and their Kick for Cash charity campaign with Morné Steyn.
Jacaranda’s Good Morning Angels radio show is renowned for its heart-warming moments when guests on the show are surprised with gifts or donations that they truly need. It’s a fun way to do a generous deed, which is right up Volvo’s alley.
Once again, Volvo Car South Africa has bravely agreed to tackle a wager with Springbok Fly Half, Morne Steyn, who will have to kick up a storm during the 2010 Super 14 Rugby Tournament – with Volvo Car South Africa making a donation to Good Morning Angels for each successful kick.
Volvo Car SA has agreed to give R100 for Morne’s first kick, R200 for the second, R300 for the third, and so forth. If Morne misses a kick, it’ll start from R100 again (but the accumulated money won’t fall away, it just keeps adding to the total). Each new match will once again start at R100. The accumulated money will go to the Good Morning Angels Fund – so listen out for the show when Volvo Car South Africa once again does its bit to help somebody’s dreams come true!
This isn’t Volvo Car South Africa’s first partnership with Good Morning Angels – recently Volvo helped Berno Haarhoff get a little closer to his dream of someday earning a paralympic Gold.
As a result of a similar wager with Morne Steyn and the Angels team last year, and in the true spirit of “There’s more to life with a Volvo. That’s why you drive one”, Volvo Car South Africa recently donated the R22 000 raised to Berno Haarhoff, a member of Team Icexpress, a group of amputee athletes competing in various sport disciplines.
Berno Haarhoff is one of four brothers, raised in Belfast in Mpumalanga by single mom, Zennie Haarhoff. Berno lost his right leg, above the knee after a two year battle with cancer. As a young SA Gymkhana athlete, hoping to make a living as a nature conservationist, this was a physical, but also mental blow.
But Berno was determined to achieve his dreams despite this setback and when he received a generous donation of R 70 000,00 for a specialized prosthetic limb from Good Morning Angels at the beginning of 2009, he vowed to make the most of this opportunity. His goal is to represent South Africa in the 2012 Paralympics in London.
During his most recent visit to the Jacaranda and Good Morning Angels studio, Berno was under the impression that it was simply a follow-up interview related to his previous visit. What awaited him, however, was an excited group of supporters including Springbok Fly Half, Morne Steyn; his kicking coach Vlok Cilliers; Johan Snyders from Icexpress; and Janette Cavanagh and Craig Roberts of Volvo Car South Africa.
As with any professional sport (but more so when expensive prosthetics are necessary), Berno and his mom have struggled to meet the financial demands. And prosthetics are expensive – especially the fast kind. Last year Berno had to borrow a prosthetic blade, similar to the one used by Oscar Pistorius, in order to qualify for the SA Athletics Championships that take place in Port Elizabeth later this year – and this certainly called for a further ‘Good Morning Angels’ surprise.
During the show when Berno received his R22 000 Kick for Cash Donation from Volvo Car South Africa, Craig Roberts did the honours and informed Berno that he would also receive a Cheetah Blade (manufactured by Icexpress) worth R25 000 courtesy of Johan Snyders from Icexpress Progressive Prosthetics. This, along with James Small’s donation of R2 000, meant that Berno walked away with R49 000 worth of support for his dedication to success.
Berno’s determination to succeed really touched a chord with everyone at Volvo Car South Africa and we are delighted with the opportunity to once again be involved with Good Morning Angels and the Kick for Cash challenge as it gives Volvo a chance to do something truly amazing for a complete stranger – we can’t wait to meet the next Angels beneficiary.
